(PHOTO  : The President and Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Surin Pitsuwan shake hands before their meeting on May 31.)

Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Surin Pitsuwan agreed Sunday (May 31) to support the expansion of economic and diplomatic ties between Korea and the 10-member regional organization.

In a meeting that took place on Korea''s southern resort island of Jeju-do, the venue for the ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit scheduled to take place June 1-2, President Lee and the secretary-general noted that the relations between Korea and the ASEAN have continuously improved over the 20 years since the two forged a dialogue partnership in 1989.

The two also said they are pleased with the planned signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) on investment to be sealed on June 2 on Jeju-do, saying it will expand economic cooperation between Korea and ASEAN while helping the world get over the ongoing global economic downturn.

A free trade agreement on the service sector between Korea and the ASEAN has gone info effect since May 1 with the participation of only six ASEAN member nations -- Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei.

In addition, the free trade pact covering goods took effect on June 1, 2007, with all ASEAN members except Thailand.

During Sunday''s meeting, Lee and Pitsuwan promised to actively implement the FTA and a broader Korea-ASEAN cooperation agreement that will be included in the joint statement of leaders at the special ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit.

In addition, while thanking President Lee for raising the issue of a need for countries to pursue environmentally friendly development, the ASEAN secretary-general also added that he wants to learn from Korea on ways to pursue green growth.

The ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit is to begin Monday afternoon, following the end of a two-day business forum called the CEO Summit that began on Jeju-do Sunday.

ASEAN consists of Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Brunei, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia.

* Source : Korea.net